Hougang
Hougang is an urban planning area and a suburb in north-eastern Singapore. Under classification by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the area is part of the North-East Region, an urban planning division. Hougang borders Sengkang to the north and Serangoon to the south. Development started around the 1980s. Most of Hougang is residential and encompasses the main Housing and Development Board's housing estate of Hougang New Town. Subzones Etymology and history Hougang is the pinyin version of Aū-káng, a Hokkien and Teochew name meaning "river end". In the past, the name connoted the area stretching from the fifth milestone junction of Yio Chu Kang Road and Sengkang Road to the seventh milestone confluence of Upper Serangoon Road and Tampines Road. Above Error: The name Hougang stems from the Hokkien and Teochew word Au-Kang, which refers to the ‘river end’, as Hougang is located upstream or at the back of Sungei Serangoon. Many Singaporean Chinese residents in the town speak the Teochew dialect as many were formerly from a Teochew community at Kampong Punggol before being relocated to Hougang. This trend however undergoes constant shifts, with new residents moving in from other parts of Singapore. There was also a fishing port. The area was once a large piece of Deserted land. Farming of pigs was also carried out by farmers. The last of these pig farmers were relocated by the late-1990s to flats built in Hougang. Today, it is an HDB new town with over 40,000 housing units interspersed with pockets of private residential areas. At Hougang Street 21, there was a well that is still identified as the tua jia ka well structure. This well identified the Teochew village of tua jia ka which means the "foot of a big well". In the past, the village was a popular place for food, street wayangs, itinerant Chinese medicine men and story tellers spinning yarns. Hougang has been developed since 1977 with the invention of Tampines Way. Further development has been made for the development of new neighbourhoods in Neighbourhood 1 - 3 by 1983, Neighbourhood 4 - 7 by 1992. Neighbourhood 8 is the city centre of the Hougang, completed in 1994. Neighbourhood 9 has been in the recent and has been completed by 2000. Shopping Hougang has 8 shopping malls which are * Hougang Mall, a five-storey shopping mall with an NTUC Fairprice outlet, Singtel outlet, Starhub outlet, and Popular bookstore. The mall serves the residents of Hougang Central. * Hougang Green Shopping Mall, a four-storey shopping mall with a Sheng Siong outlet. The mall serves Hougang West. * The Midtown, a mixed development with a condominium and a cluster of shops in Hougang Central. * Hougang 1, a suburban mall with an NTUC Fairprice Xtra outlet in Hougang West. * Heartland Mall, a suburban mall in Kovan. It has a Cold Storage outlet and Popular bookstore. * Kang Kar Mall, a two-storey shopping centre which has a Kang Kar Food Court and a two-storey NTUC Fairprice outley. * Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre, a suburban mall that has a cluster of shops, it serves residents of Kovan. * Buangkok Square Shopping Mall, a mixed developement shopping mall in Buangkok with condominiums and a three storey shopping mall with McDonalds, and a Prime Supermarket. Hougang 1 Hougang 1 is a shopping mall in Hougang. Tenants include BBQ Chicken, FairPrice Xtra, Fujifilm, Gong Cha, Hockhua Tonic, Japan Home, KFC, Kopitiam, Ministry of Cube, Starbucks, Sakae Sushi, Schon Collection and Sunday 2000. It had travellators. Hougang Mall Hougang Mall (Chinese: 后港购物坊), previously known as NTUC Hougang Mall, is a suburban shopping mall located in Hougang, Singapore. It is located near Hougang Central Bus Interchange, as well as Hougang. In 2006, the mall underwent renovation, which transformed part of the 2nd level of the mall, formerly occupied by NTUC FairPrice, into a food cluster. The mall previously had renovation works on the 5th level. Before renovations, a food court stood on the 5th floor. Now, a playground (on the roof which offers a good view of the surrounding HDB flats), a Timezone arcade, and some other shops are on the 5th floor while the food court was shifted to level 4 to the area which previously housed the NTUC Club. Tenants do include Cheng San Community Library, Harvey Norman, NTUC FairPrice, Popular Bookstore and Cotton On. Heartland Mall Heartland Mall (Chinese: 心邻坊) is a shopping mall in Singapore. A generally small shopping mall in area in comparison with other malls, it serves the neighbourhood of Kovan. It consists of four floors, with the fourth level serving only tuition centres. It is located at block 205 Hougang Street 21, just next to Kovan MRT station. The place where it is called Kovan City (Chinese: 高文城) which used to be the Hougang Town Centre, but the town centre was moved to Hougang Central when some neighbourhoods sprung up further north. Notable shops in Heartland Mall includes Popular, Old Chang Kee, Prima Deli, KFC, Pizza Hut, Watson's and Sushi Express. The majority of the floor area on the first floor is occupied by Cold Storage, a local supermarket chain. Amenities Hougang has a few amenities which includes Kovan Market & Food Centre, the only market that is accessible by bus services, and NTUC FairPrice supermarket which could be quite far away. The Tampines Round Market is better and the NTUC FairPrice supermarkets at Tampines is better than Hougang, and is bigger for New Tampines City as well as Tampines Mall. Hougang Block 607 also has direct walking to Montfort School. Healthcare Sian Chay Medical Institution was established at Victoria Street in 1901 by a group of benevolent individuals to provide free medical treatment and medicine for the poor. After over a century, Sian Chay Medical Institution is still contributing to the community and serving the people. It had one outlet at Ang Mo Kio-Hougang. Hougang also has polyclinic called "Hougang Polyclinic". The bus stop was set up in 2004 to cater to the old-aged people within the vicinity. Punggol Park Punggol Park (Chinese: 榜鹅公园) is a park located in Hougang, in the north-eastern part of Singapore. The park is 16 hectares in size, with a 5 ha lake. Developed with the theme "Family Leisure" in mind, Punggol Park has many facilities to cater to the young and old in the family. There are the play and fitness equipment for active recreation, open lawn areas for picnics or kite flying, a wooded area for leisurely strolls, a plaza area for t'ai chi, and a community corner for relaxing. Barbecue pits are also available for all to have barbecue parties for celebrations, gatherings, etc. There is a restaurant called Wild Oats Bar for dining. Other activities including inline skating and taiqi are also available. Watersports activities including dragon-boating, kayaking, wakeboarding, remote control sailboat, power boating and boating can be enjoyed by the youths. Many children play with sparklers and carry lanterns during the Lantern Festival. The park has two distinctive zones: the "Southern Active Zone" where the features for major activities are provided, and the densely forested area in the north of the lake which forms the "Passive Zone". Transport Bus Interchange Hougang Central Bus Interchange Hougang Central Bus Interchange is a bus interchange serving the town of Hougang. It is located directly above Hougang MRT Station. By 2030, Hougang Central Bus Interchange would be majorly renovated to accommodate the Cross Island Line section, and would become an Integrated Transport Hub in 2030. The Hougang Central Bus Interchange serves Hougang Town with a range of bus services going to other parts of the island. It is located in Hougang Central, near Hougang Mall and it has an underground link to Hougang MRT Station. This bus interchange was officially opened on 17 February 1995 by former cabinet minister Goh Chee Wee, who was then Senior Minister of State for Communications, Trade and Industry to serve all buses around the Hougang Area. Its sister bus interchange, Hougang South Bus Interchange (that is near to Kovan MRT station) ceased operations in 2004 and was converted to Kovan Hub. Two even older bus terminals operated in Hougang before the construction of the Hougang Central and Hougang South Bus Interchanges. One was at the end of Upper Serangoon Road in Kangkar Village, which was replaced by Hougang Central, while the other was at the sixth and a half milestone of Upper Serangoon Road, which was replaced by Hougang South. Bus Depots Hougang Bus Depot Hougang Bus Depot is an SBS Transit West District bus depot located in Hougang, Singapore. As of November 2014, the total fleet is 600 buses. Hougang Bus Depot started operations in 1983 when the north-east which is Hougang and Serangoon was developed and previously, all operations had been on Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot and Bedok Bus Depot respectively. Mass Rapid Transit Stations Hougang MRT Station Hougang MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the North East Line and Cross Island Line in the Hougang planning area in Singapore. Located within the Hougang Town Centre, the station is directly connected to Hougang Central Bus Interchange. This station will become an interchange station along the Cross Island Line when the Cross Island line stage 1 opens in 2029. Kovan MRT Station Kovan MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the North East Line in Hougang planning area. With the opening of Kovan station, the former Hougang South Bus Interchange subsequently ceased operations in February 2004 and its services were transferred to Hougang Central Bus Interchange located next to Hougang MRT station. Tai Seng MRT Station Tai Seng MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle Line, situated on the boundary of Hougang planning area. Located along Upper Paya Lebar Road, Tai Seng station was named after and primarily serves the industrial clusters at Tai Seng, which in turn means ‘big accomplishment’ in Chinese. The name was first used on a rubber factory constructed in the area in 1917. Defu MRT Station Defu MRT station is a future underground Mass Rapid Transit station on the Cross Island MRT line in Hougang planning area, Singapore. It will serve the Defu Industrial Park. Serangoon North MRT Station Serangoon North MRT station is a future underground Mass Rapid Transit station on the Cross Island MRT line located on the boundary of Hougang planning area in Singapore. Mass Rapid Transit Depots Kim Chuan Depot Kim Chuan Depot is a train depot for the Mass Rapid Transit system in Singapore. The depot is constructed fully underground and provides maintenance, stabling and operational facilities for the Circle Line. It is located in Hougang, along Upper Paya Lebar Road, and is accessible via Kim Chuan Road. It used to be the first depot in Singapore to serve two independently operated MRT lines, until the adjacent Tai Seng Facility Building, became operational with the revenue operation of the Downtown Line Stage 3 on 21 October 2017. Tai Seng Facility Building Tai Seng Facility Building, abbreviated as TSFB, (or Tai Seng) is an underground train depot for the Mass Rapid Transit system in Singapore. The depot is constructed towards the east of Kim Chuan Depot and will provide maintenance, stabling and operational facilities for the Downtown Line. It is located in Hougang along Bartley Road East. It is accessible via a surface building located along Bartley Road East. The depot is approximately 52 metres wide, 295 metres long and 20 metres deep. It is connected to Kim Chuan Depot and has underground access for trains to run between both facilities, allowing Downtown Line trains to be stabled in the Tai Seng Facility Building, and able to access its remote tracks. It is used in tandem with Kim Chuan Depot for the operations of the Downtown Line. Industrial Area Defu is an industrial estate in the northeast region of Singapore, located at the fringe of Hougang New Town. East of Defu is the Paya Lebar Air Base which will be cleared by 2026. Defu estate is famous for its chilli crab at Seafood Paradise Pte Ltd. Furthermore, Aluminum and furniture making factories are also located in this light industrial estate. Defu is to be transformed from the slum of industrial estates into big industrial estate soon. Highlights A distinctive feature of Hougang lies in the large semi-circular balconies which occur in many Housing Development Board public housing flats in the area. This feature is not as prevalent in public housing outside Hougang. Political history ]] The political representation of Hougang was split into four different constituencies as of the 2015 elections, three of which were Group Representation Constituencies (GRC) (Aljunied, Ang Mo Kio, and Marine Parade), and one Single Member Constituency (SMC) bearing the same name, the Hougang Single Member Constituency. Currently, Aljunied and Hougang wards were managed by the opposition Workers' Party (WP), while Ang Mo Kio and Marine Parade were managed by the ruling People's Action Party (PAP). Previously, Hougang were administered by five now-defunct wards (Jalan Kayu, Paya Lebar, Punggol, Serangoon Gardens and Upper Serangoon), before it redistricted into GRCs, notably Cheng San GRC (also defunct since 2001). The area covering Hougang Avenues 2, 5, 7 and a small portion of Hougang Central, were under the namesake Hougang SMC, where it was carved out from Punggol ward ahead of the 1988 elections. The first Member Of Parliament (MP) of the ward was PAP's Tang Guan Seng, until it had been captured by former WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang, in 1991. Low left the ward to contest (and later elect himself in) Aljunied GRC ahead of the 2011 elections, and was replaced by Yaw Shin Leong, a candidate whose part of the WP team contested Ang Mo Kio GRC in the 2006 elections. Yaw remained as an MP until his expulsion from the party's CDC and his resignation of the seat in February 2012 over an extramarital affair. Png Eng Huat, a candidate whose part of the WP team contested East Coast GRC in the 2011 elections, had since represented this ward after winning his by-election on May 2012. The area covering south of Hougang Avenues 6, 8, 10, as well as Punggol Park, Defu Industrial Park and Kovan, were under both Paya Lebar and Bedok Reservoir-Punggol divisions of Aljunied GRC. The GRC was previously managed by the PAP which members include Cynthia Phua and former Foreign Minister George Yeo, until it was taken over by WP's Chen Show Mao and Low Thia Khiang, respectively, in the 2011 elections, with the takeover marked the first time an opposition party had been elected in a GRC since it was established in 1988. The GRC was not contested in 2001 with the WP being disqualified due to incomplete applications, but in the 2006 elections, the WP were able to pose a strong challenge for this ward, with the members consist of WP's chairwoman Sylvia Lim and former member James Gomez.Aljunied Group Representation Constituency The north-western portions of Hougang (Avenues 4, 8 and 9, and Street 91), which included Hougang Stadium and Regentville Condo, were under the Ang Mo Kio-Hougang division of Ang Mo Kio GRC. Its MP is Darryl David, who replaces former MP Yeo Guat Kwang after the 2015 elections. Prior to the 2011 elections, the ward was a part of Aljunied GRC (under the name of Aljunied-Hougang), where Yeo was then the MP. The northern portions of Hougang (north of Avenues 6, 8 and Street 51) were under the Sengkang South division, also part of the Ang Mo Kio GRC, where Gan Thiam Poh was the MP. It was previously belong to Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC (under the name of Punggol South) until it was carved out in 2015. The western portions of Hougang, previously being Serangoon Gardens division, belonged to the Jalan Kayu (Ang Mo Kio) and Serangoon (Aljunied) divisions, which were represented by Intan Azura Mokhtar and Sylvia Lim, respectively. The area was previously belong to the short-lived Thomson GRC in 1991. The southernmost portion of Hougang, Tai Seng, was under the Geylang Serai division of the Marine Parade GRC, where Fatimah Lateef represented the ward. Marine Parade was also contested by WP during the 2015 elections. Language Many of the Singaporean Chinese residents in Hougang speak the Teochew dialect, because they were originally from Kampong Ponggol, a predominantly Teochew community, before they were relocated to Hougang as Singapore began developing. However, this is becoming less of a trend as the newer residents come from all over the island. Schools Secondary Schools * Montfort Secondary School * Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Secondary) Bowen Secondary School Bowen Secondary School (BWSS) is a government school in Hougang, Singapore. Bowen Secondary School started in 1982 in the town of Ang Mo Kio. On 4 December 1999 Bowen moved to new premises along Lorong Napiri. In year 2000, the school became a single session school with 1374 pupils and a Secondary One intake. Saw Yan Naung had decided to enter to this school. Holy Innocents High School Holy Innocents' High School (Abbreviation: HIHS; Simplified Chinese:圣婴中学, Traditional Chinese: 聖嬰中學, pinyin: Shèngyīng Zhōngxué) is one of the earliest Catholic schools in Singapore. Founded in 1892 as a boys' school, the Chinese mission school has grown and expanded over the years and continues to provide secondary school education leading up to a Singaporean GCE 'O' Level certification, in both express and normal(academic) streams. The normal (technical) stream students will only take the GCE 'N' levels. Every year during Thanksgiving Day, the students and teachers attend thanksgiving mass and award ceremonies in the hall. The co-educational high school has received major facelifts in 1994 and 2004 in order to upgrade its old colonial style buildings and facilities. Today, Holy Innocents' High School stands on an elevated ground in Hougang Central, surrounded by HDB flats and the shopping centre named Hougang Mall. Hougang Secondary School Hougang Secondary School (abbreviation: HS; Simplified Chinese: 后港中学) is a Co-educational secondary school located in Hougang, in the northern part of Singapore. Hougang Secondary School started functioning on 2 January 2001 at 58 Lowland Road. It was relocated to its permanent site at 2 Hougang Street 93 on 20 December 2001. The school's motto is ‘Make the Difference'. Our current alumni is Shiying Shynn. Serangoon Junior College Serangoon Junior College (SRJC) is a junior college in Singapore, offering a two-year course for pre-university students leading up to GCE 'A' Level examinations. Established in March 1988 as the 14th Junior College in Singapore, Serangoon Junior College set up its temporary premises in Hougang. With a pioneering staff strength of 45 teachers, lessons for the first batch of 673 students commenced in April of the same year. In December 1990, the College relocated to its present campus at Upper Serangoon Road. It was officially declared open on 29 May 1992 by Mr. Lee Yock Suan, the then Minister for Education and Member of Parliament for Cheng San GRC. Adeline Lau had studied in Serangoon Junior College from 2013 to 2015, after Chongzheng Primary School and Pasir Ris Secondary School, and the stint had went into the Singapore University of Technology and Design in 2016. Serangoon Secondary School Serangoon Secondary School is a government secondary school in Hougang, Singapore. The school was established in 1928. In 2001, the secondary school was moved to its present location at 11 Upper Serangoon View. Serangoon Secondary School became a night school for only sometime before it pulled out in 2012. Xinmin Secondary School Xinmin Secondary School (abbreviation: XMS) is an autonomous secondary school in Hougang, Singapore. It offers classes taught in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. The school was founded as Sin Min School in 1945. Secondary school classes began in 1956. As of Dec 2002, the Principal was Low-Sim Ay Nar. In September 2005, the school won the School Excellence Award, the first neighbourhood school to win the award. In December 2006, Liew Wei Li became principal. In December 2010, Ong Hong Peng took over from Liew Wei Li as principal of Xinmin Secondary School. Additionally, only Tan Pei Ting Stella had studied in Xinmin Secondary School from 2009 to 2012 after Tampines Primary School. Yuying Secondary School Yuying Secondary was founded by the Hainanese Community in 1910 as a Chinese medium high school. It is one of the oldest school in Singapore. Initially, it was known as Yock Eng School. In 1947, it was renamed to Yock Eng High School (Template:Zh). Finally, in 1985, its name is changed to Yuying Secondary. In 1941, the school moved to a new campus at 65 Tanjong Katong Road. The two-storey building was given conservation status by Urban Redevelopment Authority on 8 April 2005. The government planned to acquire the land of which the school stand at Tanjong Katong Road. In order to relocate the school, the new school building was being in Hougang New Town at the cost of approximately $10 million. The government would share 50% of the cost. In 1984, the board of management of Yock Eng High School faced the dilemma of raising the remaining $5 million. If it could not raise sufficient funds, the board would have to turn over the management of the school to the Education Ministry and the school would be converted to a government school. On 9 December 1985, the school was relocated to her present premises at 47 Hougang Avenue 1. The school was renamed Yuying Secondary School and was officially opened on 13 August 1987. Primary Schools * CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity (formerly known as CHIJ Punggol) * Holy Innocents' Primary School * Hougang Primary School * Montfort Junior School * Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Primary) * Punggol Primary School * Xinghua Primary School * Xinmin Primary School * Yio Chu Kang Primary School Condominiums The Minton is a condominium. It will be completed in February 2014, replacing Minton Rise. In addition, Midtown is a condominium and shopping mall, and is similar to Rubi Midtown wedge. It was completed in January 2017. Boathouse Residences is a condominium where Koh Lin and Nico Eckart stays from August 2015 all the way to March 2019, when she moved out from Boathouse Residences to Dhoby Ghaut area. 37 Jalan Lepas is a house, which is home to the Alex Chiau and their children, which is 2-storey house. They had however moved to Merawoods in January 2015, out of which Timothy Mok had only gone in November 2011, December 2011 and Christmas 2013 (28 December 2013). Together, Alex Chiau had called LCH Logistics & Movers for shifting of the house, which has been completed in 2017 towards Yishun Block 504C. Parkland Residences is a DBSS flat in Hougang, Singapore. It is also proposed to be Koh Jin and Jamaine Ying's house, so far the renovation is incomplete as of 2017. Heron Bay is a new condominium in Hougang East. Construction will start in mid-2012 and complete in 2016. Gallery 15802060_240596676366474_1811546853888491520_n.jpg|Hougang South 15538615_382407758760939_9073876646326435840_n.jpg|Hougang South, which is near to Poh Boon's house 15275626_1774872476110299_3028442446125072384_n.jpg|Lorong Ah Soo and Seah's place 15534854_724866237671447_6338543659201331200_n.jpg|The Minton 15034485_906847992778942_6066863690416652288_n.jpg|Hougang Polyclinic 15048205_1267948029936814_4742419621712232448_n.jpg|The old Fish Farm References Sources *Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1 See also *Hougang MRT Station Category:Places in Singapore Category:North-East Region, Singapore Category:Hougang